The notion of cognitive dissonance was proposed by Leon Festinger in 1957. He defined it as:
The mental discomfort experienced with holding two or more contradictory beliefs, values, or behaviors.
Festinger claimed that cognitive dissonance could cause any number of destructive behaviors in its sufferers. I’m wondering if it’s why members of the radical left spend their lives consumed with irrational anger. Anger could be a subset of “mental discomfort” couldn’t it?
The radical left believes in collectivism – the needs of the many supersede the rights of any individual. It’s the hive mentality that individuals must sacrifice their welfare, if it benefits the welfare of the commune (i.e. the collective). It’s also the foundation for social justice. Adherents claim that a marginalized candidate should be given advancement over a more capable candidate, if it advances racial equity. But there is one exception to collectivism: The rights of criminals supersede the commune’s need for social harmony. The left protects the antisocial, and sacrifices the socially responsible, while calling it social justice. Mightn’t that cause some mental conflict?
The radical left believes in moral relativism – the notion that morality is defined by men rather than God. Relativism asserts that morality is not absolute and may shift according to changing societal norms. The killing of an unborn baby was immoral a century ago, but it’s “A-Okay” now, because societal norms have shifted – so they say. But when a state votes that the new societal norm is that late term abortion is immoral, the left claims that the “right to choose” is an absolute moral right which doesn’t shift according to norms. I’m not sure how their subconscious squares that – angrily I suspect.
Speaking of the “right to choose,” the left claims that everyone has an absolute right to choose what to do with their own body, whether it be abortion, mutilation, or even suicide. But that right is cancelled if the President mandates submission to an experimental treatment like the COVID vaccine. Apparently the logic of their worldview stops where President “Softserve’s” autopen starts. See the conflict?
The radical left claims that the forced cloaking of a female body in red for a movie signifies oppression by the patriarchy. But the forced cloaking of a female body in black by Islam signifies liberation. They don’t see the irony, but we normies do.
The examples of cognitive dissonance go on and on.
- Women must be protected from the predations of men, unless the men are wearing dresses or crossed the southern border under the Biden Administration.
- Palestine must be freed, but Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba must not be freed.
- The only thing eviler than slavery, is the party that ended it.
- All female claims of harassment must be believed, unless the female is Paula Jones or Juanita Broaddrick.
- Questioning election integrity is treason, unless done by Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Stacy Abrams, Jasmine Crockett, or … oh heck, any Democrat.
- Labor unions are the purest form of worker empowerment, unless they’re organizing at Amazon.
- Democracy is sacred unless
literally HitlerDonald Trump is democratically elected.
Dr. Festinger said that holding such conflicting positions would inevitably lead to frustration, anger, guilt, and even irrational, behavior. When the Democrats refused to stand for protecting American citizens, during a SOTU address, it was a nationally televised demonstration of cognitive dissonance induced irrational behavior. President Trump clearly concurs with Dr. Festinger’s diagnosis, and stated it in non-psychobabble terms: “These people are crazy, I’m telling you. They’re crazy!”
Author Bio: John Green is a retired engineer and political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho. He spent his career designing complex defense systems, developing high performance organizations, and doing corporate strategic planning. He is a contributor to American Thinker, The American Spectator, and the American Free News Network. He can be reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.
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